Welding student Nick Mazzeo and nursing assistant student Kayla Turner appeared in the segment, which aired at 8:30 on Friday morning.

“I know when I get out of school, I’ll be job-ready, ready to join a career field and start making money,” Mazzeo said.

“It’s not a walk in the park,” Turner said of Vernon Malone’s challenging, hands-on curriculum that helps students earn college credits as they simultaneously complete their high school requirements.

Vernon Malone, a joint partnership between the Wake County Public School System, Wake Technical Community College and Wake County Government, opened this year to students in 10th-12th grade. Ninth graders can attend the school starting next year.

Moore Square Magnet Middle worked with the NC Museum of Natural Sciences to create a school-wide onsite work-based learning opportunity.

On December 12, students, teachers and parents will attend a customized museum program and tour. There will be two rotations for 40 groups of 10 students with chaperones. The museum will provide 40 employees to serve as tour guides allowing customized career discussions during the tours.

The students will see the museum’s Nature Research Center, Environmental Conference Center and Nature Exploration Center. The students will hear from Museum Director Dr. Emlyn Koster, Dr. Patrick Treuthardt, Assistant Director of Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Laboratory; Dr. Steve Turner, Curator of the Naturalist Center; and Dr. Dan Dombrowski, Chief Veterinarian.

This marks the first time that the school and museum have planned such an event.

Thanks to Moore Square Career Development Coordinator Julia Groom for sharing this story.

Some present and former Ligon Magnet Middle students attended the German Immersion Weekend at Camp Caraway on Friday and Saturday.

Wake County German teachers organized the camp with the theme of Sport-Spiel-Spaß! (Sports, games, fun!)

Students promise to speak only German from Friday afternoon until Saturday night. They participated in many fun activities – photo scavenger hunt, getting to know you games, dancing, vocabulary games, singing around a campfire, sports stations and a quiz bowl.

While many of the 53 students from nine schools were in high school, the Ligon students did great.

Thanks to Ligon German teacher Jo Frances Garrison and Principal Gretta Dula for sharing this story.

One of the characteristics of an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme student is inquisitiveness.

That was on full display Friday morning at Fox Road IB Magnet School, as more than 100 second-graders peppered Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane with questions about everything from her salary to what her office looks like.

What follows is an abridged transcript of the spirited press conference:

A: Well, that’s up for debate. [grown-up laughter] It helps to be smart. But it’s hard to know everything about everything. I try to learn as much as I can. For the things I don’t know, I go ask the people who do.

Q: Do you have to be focused?

A: Yes, you do. I have to focus not only on how things are today, but also how they will be in 10 years or 20 years. I want to make sure that when you grow up, you will want to live here and that you will think Raleigh is still a nice place to live.

Q: How many laws can you make in a day?

A: Well, we have meetings at 1 o’clock and then another one at 7 o’clock. How many can we pass in that time? There’s no limit. We can pass as many as we want.

Q: Do you run the stores?

A: No, I don’t. The city has inspectors that make sure, when a store opens, that it’s safe. And sometimes we work with stores to try to bring them to Raleigh.

A: Well I have a desk, and a big table for meetings. And I have a big picture of a counselor at the YMCA laughing and playing with a bunch of kids. That’s my daughter.

Q: What happens if you don’t do your job?

A: Then things at the city don’t run very well.

Q: Are you the president’s boss?

A: No, but I have met him a few times.

Q: Is anyone the boss of you?

A: Yes, the 420,000 people in Raleigh are the boss of me.

Q: How much money do you make?

A: Well, I just got a raise, so I now make $15,000 a year.

Students, in their only break from press-scrum objectivity: Whoaaa!

Mayor McFarlane with Fox Road teachers and staff.

About Fox Road Magnet Elementary School

Fox Road transitioned from a traditional elementary to an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme magnet in the 2013-14 school year.

In the IB Programme, students are encouraged to be inquisitive, working with their teacher and their peers to get answers. “The teacher is the facilitator rather than the fountain of knowledge,” says Anne Waechter, magnet coordinator at Fox Road. “They’re exploring learning rather than memorizing information.” (Click here to learn more about the IB Learner Profile.)

Walk into a Fox Road classroom and you’re likely to find students huddled in small groups, often with iPads at the ready, working on a project that ties in with both IB themes and core subjects.

Fox Road students have embraced the attributes of an IB learner with gusto. They understand the meaning of words like principled, inquirer and knowledgeable, and they demonstrate these attributes on a daily basis to turn their learning into action to better our world. “They’ve mastered and become a part of their own learning,” Waechter says. “They’re in the driver’s seat, and therefore more engaged.”

One sign of that is the fact that behavioral incidents have decreased sharply since the IB Programme was implemented, Waechter says.

There are six transdisciplinary themes in IB:

Who we are

Where we are in place and time

How we organize ourselves

How we express ourselves

Sharing the planet

How the world works

Those themes shape how core subjects such as math, science, language, social studies and the arts are taught.

Mayor McFarlane’s visit jibed with several of those themes, as she met with second-graders engaged in a government services unit.

Parents who wish to schedule a tour or ask questions can contact Waechter at 919-850-8859 or by email at awaechter@wcpss.net. An open house is slated for Jan. 7.

The State Board of Education honored Brentwood Magnet Elementary School of Engineering as one of the state’s top STEM schools today.

Brentwood was the only WCPSS school and only elementary school honored by the state.

“To receive this award, it’s a great achievement,” Principal Eric Fitts said. “We have worked very hard to embed STEM-related practices in everyday teaching. It’s a recognition of the dedication and hard work of our teachers and the accomplishments of the children who are working diligently every day at Brentwood.” Continue Reading . . .

Each magnet elementary program will be represented by parents and staff from the school.

Click HERE to learn more about all magnet programs and other recruitment events.

P.S. A reminder to parents of prospective Early College school applicants: The application period lasts only until Dec. 1 and requires an essay. Click HERE for more information about those programs and how to apply.

If you’re a rising 6th or 9th grader, or are the parent of one, you’ll want to be at Millbrook High School the morning of Saturday, Nov. 15 for an information session about transitioning to middle and high school. Workshops will be held on these topics:

Transitioning to middle school

Transitioning to high school

Middle school math placement

Extracurricular options

Connecting to college and career opportunities, including scholarships

Career and Technical Education

Dealing with peer pressure

Early College and Magnet options

Counseling services

There also will be information booths with materials on these and other topics. Continental breakfast will be provided, courtesy of New York Life.

A Vernon Malone student works on an air-conditioning unit, part of the heating/air/refrigeration certificate program.

Get a jump start on college and/or a high-paying career at this one-of-a-kind school. Students complete courses required for high school graduation while simultaneously receiving hands-on training in one of 10 skilled trades. Credits in those can be applied to a four-year university or a certificate or diploma program at Wake Technical Community College.

The site itself is a major draw, as Vernon Malone is housed in the renovated former Coca-Cola factory on South Wilmington Street.

You really have to see it for yourself. There’s an open house on Nov. 4 at 6:30. The window to pre-apply for Vernon Malone and all other Early College programs is Nov. 1 to Dec. 1. Click HERE to learn more about that process.

At Poe, a new Gifted and Talented/Academically or Intellectually Gifted (G&T/AIG) magnet, “We believe all of our students have gifts and talents, and we provide different opportunities for them to explore and hone in on what their gifts are,” says Poe’s Magnet Coordinator Sebrina Williams.

Teachers help identify particular strengths and seek to nurture them, both in the classroom and via a series of stimulating elective courses. AIG-identified fourth and fifth graders receive instruction in language arts and math from AIG-certified teachers. All students are encouraged to “work at their fullest potential.”

There’s art, dance, music and theater, as well as photography, computer animation and kitchen chemistry, among many others.

Poe is one of 5 magnets to benefit from a $9 million federal grant. Part of the funds will go toward buy new instruments for the school orchestra.

Poe has been recently renovated and boasts a new multipurpose facility. An open house is scheduled for Jan. 7. Weekly tours are limited in size, so RSVP to reserve your space by calling 919-250-4778 or emailing swilliams2@wcpss.net.

Fifth-grade teacher Peter Damroth works with a group of his students. Yep, those are iPads.

The progress in just one year has been astounding, says Anne Waechter, magnet coordinator at Fox Road Magnet Elementary.

Fox Road transitioned from a traditional elementary to an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme magnet in the 2013-14 school year.

Students are encouraged to be inquisitive, working with their teacher and small groups of their peers to get answers. “The teacher is the facilitator rather than the fountain of knowledge,” Waechter says. “They’re exploring learning rather than memorizing information.”

Students embrace the attributes of an IB learner, something Fox Road students have done with gusto. Students understand the meaning of words like principled, inquirers, and knowledgeable as part of their vocabulary, and they demonstrate these attributes on a daily basis to turn their learning into action to better our world.

Engagement in world related content is seen across the school in large part because they are now an integral part of their own education. One sign of that is the fact that behavioral incidents have decreased sharply since the IB Programme was implemented. Students develop 21st century skills by problem solving and answering questions using a variety of resources including technology to access a better understanding of concepts and make real world connections.

To schedule a tour or ask questions, contact Waechter at 919-850-8859 or by email at awaechter@wcpss.net. An open house is slated for Jan. 7

The young students file down the hall in orderly fashion en route to their next class. But a few have to pop out of line to give Magnet Coordinator Sandy Carter a quick hug.

Green is that kind of place, nurturing and friendly. It’s also a place that’s preparing students to make their way in the globalization era.

Green’s magnet theme is Leadership and World Languages. Each student has one class daily in either Spanish or Mandarin. This has benefits beyond putting students on a path toward being conversant or even fluent in a foreign language, as they advance through school. “Instruction in a second language improves memory, listening ability, creativity and critical thinking,” according to a brochure for prospective Green students. “These skills equip students to be active, productive and successful citizens in a global society.”

Not only do students learn the language, they also study the Chinese, Mexican and Central and South American cultures.

Mandarin teacher Shuang Wu.

The Leadership component is integrated into the core curriculum, everyday language and really everything done at Green. It’s modeled on The Leader in Me,a continuous-improvement process based on Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Students learn the 7 Habits – in two languages – and work to practice them in all they do, Carter says.

“What we do here is provide a World Language to every child, every day, as well as help them to discover the leader in themselves,” Carter says. “Share your child with us, and we’ll return you a leader who speaks a world language.”

Green currently is in a temporary campus off Spring Forest Road. The school system will build a new structure at its permanent location on Six Forks Road that will open in August 2016.

Two schools will return to magnet status and three more will become magnets next school year, the WCPSS school board decided Tuesday evening.

Broughton High School and Daniels Middle School will be remagnetized. They were made traditional schools in 2008. Hodge Road, Jeffreys Grove and Stough elementary schools will become magnets.

The five schools will create a K-12 language immersion/global studies magnet pathway. Jeffreys Grove now offers a full immersion program in Spanish, Stough offers Chinese full immersion and Hodge Road has a dual-language Spanish immersion program. Making those schools magnets will open those options to students across the district.

Vernon Malone opened this year with just grades 10-12. Enrollment was below expectations, and Tuesday’s move is seen as a way to boost that.

The school, located in the renovated former Coca-Cola plant on South Wilmington Street, is a unique partnership between WCPSS, Wake Technical Community College and Wake County Government. Students can complete their high school graduation requirements while pursuing one of 10 certificate or degree programs in hands-on courses of study taught by Wake Tech instructors.